Travel News

Peter Talks Travel Insurance on The Early Show

CBS Early Show logoPeter appeared on The Early Show in CBS this morning, discussing the ins and outs of travel insurance.

In this economy, is it worth shelling out an extra 4 to 10 percent of your trip cost to cover unforeseen “what ifs” in travel?

First, Peter explained some types of travel insurance, scenarios in which it can come in handy, and when it’s worth spending your hard-earned travel dollars:

  • Basic flight insurance, which covers you if your plane crashes and you are killed or injured.

  • Trip cancellation and interruption insurance. More comprehensive plans can extend as far as covering for lost or delayed bags, reimbursement for hotel rooms and incidentals in case of a delayed flight, dealing with lost documents or forgotten medication, and even medical coverage. The value of this insurance goes up with the amount you’re spending on the trip.

  • Medical evacuation and repatriation – Beyond receiving medical treatment in your destination, which many traditional insurance plans cover, Peter highly recommends something called medical evacuation and repatriation insurance. That covers you if you get sick or injured and then flown to an appropriate hospital. But read the fine print, as some companies will transport you to a hospital based on the company’s discretion, while others allow you to decide where to go (even if it’s the hospital in your home town).

But these policies also come with all sorts of exclusions and other fine print.

Planning to go snowboarding? Traveling during a hurricane or hurricane season? Do you know what questions to ask before you purchase a policy?

Check out the full transcript on CBS.

Check out more of Peter’s recent TV segments in our TV/Video section.

And for more information, check out our Travel Insurance section.